Many electronic components require connectors to couple various devices together. A computer system, for example, may use a multitude of connectors and cables to couple a printer, a network, and/or peripheral to the computer chassis.
Many connectors have a standard interface such as the 9-pin D-sub connector. Like most connectors, the 9-pin D-sub connector has either a male interface or a female interface. The male interface and its mating connector, the female interface, couple together to provide a connection for the 9 signal lines carried by each of the interfaces. The male interface has nine pins, and the female interface has nine holes. An outer jacket on the male interface is shaped like the letter `D` such that the female interface, which is also shaped like the letter `D`, may only be coupled together with the male interface in a specific orientation since one side is longer than the other.
For certain applications, such as rack mounted devices, it is desirable to have a connector which can be easily coupled together without the need for manually aligning the two connectors. A blind connector is used in these situations. A blind connector has a fixed interface and a movable, or floating, interface. For example, a device which is to be installed into a rack mount chassis may have a floating blind connector interface, and the rack mount chassis may have a fixed blind connector interface. When the device is pushed into the rack mount chassis the floating interface aligns itself and couples with the fixed interface to provide physical connections between the signals of one interface with those of the other interface.
A blind connector allows ease of connection because the male interface and female interface form a connection without the need to manually align the two interfaces. The floating connector allows for one of the interfaces, either the male interface or the female interface, to move in order to couple with its mate.
Up until this time, floating connectors have been custom-made and relatively expensive. A cheap, relatively easy-to-make connector is desirable.